How Far to Paradise? - The Tale of the Razgriz
by Simon Aridan
Summary: War never changes, though war itself changes everything; families, cities, nations, and sometimes drives us to become the Devil himself.


**How Far to Paradise?**

**The Tale of the Razgriz**

Home

The morning PT formation ran by in cadence.

"_Gonna run all day, gonna run all night!"_

It was a sound he had heard many times before.

"_Left, right, left, right, left, right, KILL!"_

That was something he had come to do very well.

"_Left, right, left, right, KILL I WILL!"_

The paratrooper detachment was conducting a morning run along it's usual route, the road that ran along most of the beach, affectionately dubbed "the boardwalk."

The pilot sat on a nearby bench, just on that beach, gazing out over the clear blue waters that encompassed the tiny little island. The sunrise was beautiful, shining out over the horizon, encapsulating everything within it's serene glow. The pilot reached into his breast pocket, pulled out an Ashton, chomped down, lit it. As he exhaled, the rush of calm came over him, almost sexual in it's effect. He leaned back and closed his eyes, allowing his surroundings to wash over him. The chill of the morning wind thrashed against his face, the gulls in the distance sang their song while scouring for their next meal, the smell of sea salt burned in his nostrils. The island had a way of entrancing you, carving out a home within your mind and staying there, making you long for it's embrace. In another life, in another time, this Sand Island could a considered a paradise.

The thundering roar of the nearby paratroopers continued to boom out across the plain,

"_When I get to hell, the Devil, he will say, 'How'd you earn your livin', boy? How'd you earn your pay?' I'll reply with a boot to his chest, 'I made my living putting souls to rest!'"_

That's what his life had become: an exercise in how to more efficiently exterminate his fellow man… and he was damn good at it. What would he tell God when he reached the afterlife, besides handing Him a resume which included the slaughter of countless husbands, fathers, sons?

The pilot took a long drag of his cigar.

"_I wanna be an Airborne Ranger! I wanna live a life of danger!"_

Exhale.

"_Airborne Ranger! Sex and danger!"_

What a life, the pilot thought.

He took a moment to reflect on the last few years, what had happened, what could have happened, people he had met, those he had left behind. It had seemed like only yesterday he had come to this little island upon completion of basic flight training, a twenty-four year old lieutenant who didn't know up from down.

The pilot continued to muse, puffing on his cigar as the airborne column slipped away into the distance. He remained motionless for… how long? He was in semi-consciousness when he heard a soft, soothing voice from over his shoulder.

"Danny?"

Kei. The one constant he had through all of this. She was his rock, his strength, the one who understood, in the chaos of the world around him.

"You sure you shouldn't be doing PT with the rest of the grunts?" she asked half-jokingly. He had given the squadron the day off, seeing as tomorrow they were going to be thrown into what many had believed an impossible mission. But nothing was impossible, and this pilot intended to show the world just that.

"I don't feel like it," was the smartass reply. He didn't have to do anything he didn't want to. Wardog Squadron did whatever it pleased, and everyone knew it. It's pilots were aces many times over, and allied soldiers across the front were assured that they were safe so long as Wardog was flying overhead. They had been hailed as demons, and if they were demons, then this pilot, callsign 'Blaze', was their Demon Lord, and he answered to no one but God.

Kei sat beside him, brushing up against his arm warmly. He plucked the Ashton from his mouth, leaned over, planted a kiss on her neck. The response was her laying her head on his chest.

"It'll all be over soon… and then we can go home."

He thought about that word, rolled it over and over in his head. He replied softly,

"Yea… home."

**AN: Well everybody, I'm back on FanFiction after a seven-year hiatus, equipped with more maturity and experience, including my own stint in the military. This is my second shot at telling the story of the Razgriz.**


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